It's game on. The world is getting a full month of distraction from some of its worst and most long-standing problems as millions enjoy the 2014 World Cup, in a dream host country - Brazil.
During this month, for many, conflicts in CAR, Syria or even Boko Haram attacks will be pushed to the back, buried in the news.
In Brazil, the ruling party dreams of becoming campeones so that Dilma Roussef can ride that momentum to electoral victory three months after.
Already the selecao's opening win, seems to have healed some of the social bruises that had sparked riots across the country last June unleashing with it warmer offshore winds from the Atlantic.
Brazil's 12 host cities have struggled to meet the deadlines for stadiums to be ready, and still construction workers could be seen in Natal, racing against the clock, masking the unfinished areas with welcome placards hours to the city's first world cup game.
Ready or not, the world is having a big recreation in a country of fine beaches, breath-taking forests, landscapes and wow cities.
In a fast-paced world of cyclical tragedies, some would say it was high time the world had a break after South Africa and, what better place than Brazil for it?
Other country's have their own reverie of how they can steal the show in Brazil for political reasons. Only in this political exploitation of the soothing sedative that football is, some may harvest political nightmares either because they were out-witted by competitors in the contest for football glory or simply because they were the engineers of their own failure
So while the world plays in a multi-billion tournament, the struggling masses cheer in FIFA fan fests across Brazil, but also from favellas and ghettos across the globe.
But beyond the surreal broadcast on TV, radio and online, of a happy world, the world cup is also a real life experience those at the bottom of the pyramid here in Natal are trying to make the best of the event, selling flags, grillades and in some cases themselves.
While some make new friends and discover new cultures, other than those they have been boxed in for most of their lives. The games have begun, and if football is indeed the opium of the world, it's fans are high right now! signing out mid-air between Natal and Manaus.
